(201) Magazine Blogs

Monday, June 09, 2014

Prior to this series against the Kings, Brad Richards, Marty St. Louis and the suspended Dan Carcillo were the only players on the Rangers’ roster to have participated in a previous Stanley Cup Final.

Coach Alain Vigneault, of course, had his Canucks within a Game 7 of lifting the trophy in 2011 against the Bruins.

So, almost by definition, this Cup Final is a learning experience for all the other players on the roster.

“I think you learn the intensity is high throughout whether it’s three or five periods, people keep going at a high pace throughout the game,” Carl Hagelin said. “You can see how every player is playing at their top. There’s still going to be mistakes. I thought there’d be less mistakes in the Stanley Cup Final and less chances but I think both teams are doing a good job creating chances.”

Added defenseman John Moore, “I don’t know if it’s so much a learning experience, I think that’s more regular season and maybe when it’s all over, you get your learning experience. It’s an opportunity right now to win the Cup and it’s been everyone’s dream since they’ve been little. As cliché as it is, it’s staying in the moment and being ready for that next challenge. I think it’s just execution. Everyone’s coming in the Final, they’re wanting to play their best. It’s just a matter of execution and being a cohesive five-man unit on the ice and playing together and playing our system. That’s the biggest thing, pulling together and making sure we’re coming from the same direction. I think that (it is a Cup Final) is definitely looming over you but again it’s about being focused and realizing what’s at hand one shift at a time. As cliché as it sounds, it’s been our backbone and what we’ve fallen back on the whole postseason.”

Rick Nash, with just three goals in 22 playoff games so far, described playing in the Cup Final as “tons of pressure but there’s lots of excitement, too. It’s been 12 years for me to get to this point so you try to enjoy and try to strive under the pressure.”

But, in the end, hockey is hockey, according to defenseman Anton Stralman.

“Honestly, I approach it as it’s just another series,” Stralman said. “I don’t really think about it as a Stanley Cup Final. I just approach it as just another round and try to keep the focus on that out of it. Obviously, to win a Stanley Cup you have to be on your A game. That’s what it comes down to. Whichever team can produce their best A game. It’s still hockey, it’s nothing unusual.”

Brian Boyle, too, said everything he expected the Cup Final to be has pretty much played out.

“It’s nothing I really didn’t expect,” Boyle said. “This is a good team we’re playing against. Mistakes will cost you. It’s hard to win games.”
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The Stanley Cup Final returns to Madison Square Garden tonight for the first time since June 14, 1994. But for it to be a truly memorable night for the Garden crowd, the Rangers have to reverse the result of the first two games in Los Angeles.

“Our backs are against a wall,” Brian Boyle said. “We need a win.”

The Rangers can take some solace in essentially playing the Kings even except for giving up two goals in overtime - and being outplayed in the third period of Game 1. The Kings have yet to hold a lead in this series except for the two overtime winners.

“We have to hold serve and we know that,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “But we know our game and we know the way to play. When we do that, we’re a good team. We have done that for the most part throughout this series. But even though we’re playing and we’re playing the right way, they’re a great hockey team. I mean, it’s been nine periods of real good hockey so far. Could have gone one way or the other. They’re up 2-0. Give them full credit. We’re going to try to make this a series tonight.”

“I think we have to be willing to compete, willing to make the right play every shift,” defenseman Dan Girardi added. “They don’t take a shift off. They’re throwing everything they have at us. Obviously, the two overtimes, little plays hurt us. We’ve had the lead the majority of the two games. Obviously, we’ve been doing something right.”

Both teams held morning skates at the Garden this morning.

It does not appear Vigneault will change his lines tonight, though Brad Richards, in particularly, and linemates Marty St. Louis and Carl Hagelin struggled in Game 2. Richards and St. Louis were a minus-3 while Hagelin was a minus-2 and it’s no surprise that many of the Rangers spoke off the need to limit turnovers tonight, even if the Kings were credited with 33 giveaways in Game 2 compared to the Rangers’ 15.

“I’m sure Brad, with his experience, knows that their whole line needs to be better,” Vigneault said. “If you look at the stats on that night, it obviously wasn’t one of their better nights. But they’re veteran guys. They’ve been around. They can evaluate their game real well. I’m sure they’re going to have a good bounce-back game tonight.

Sort of apples and oranges but Vigneault did see that with Girardi in Game 2 after his Game 1 defensive-zone turnover led to Justin Williams’ overtime winner.

Girardi blocked a game-high six shots in 36:18 - second on the team to partner Ryan McDonagh’s 37:48, though he was a minus-two and on the ice for both Marian Gaborik’s third-period equalizer and Dustin Brown’s overtime winner.

“I personally wasn’t impressed in the sense that I knew that’s he he was going to respond,” Vigneault said. “Dan’s got a lot of mental capabilities. He got unfortunate there.”

“I guess I’d rather play a terrible game and win and have the series tied 1-1,” Girardi added. “It was good have a good game and bounce back after that tough play but it is what it is. We’d rather have the win than play a great game.”

From the Rangers’ morning skate, only Cam Talbot was not on the ice and it’s probably a sign of the expectations of seeing the backup goalie in the immediate future that Vigneault wasn’t even asked about Talbot availability. David LeNeveu will again serve as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup tonight.

Also, Vigneault said he did have additional communication with the NHL regarding the non-call on possible goalie interference on Dwight King’s goal in Game 2, which brought the Kings within 4-3 and, in Lundqvist’s opinion, changed the momentum of the game.

Marian Gaborik had a successful run on Broadway until he and the director (John Tortorella) differed over the vision of the show, prompting his trade to the Blue Jackets on April 3, 2013.

He suffered through an injury-plagued tenure before being sent to the Kings as a late-season rental on March 5. Meaning tonight’s Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final with his Kings holding a 2-0 series advantage will be Gaborik’s first game back at Madison Square Garden since leaving the Rangers.

“Yeah, that gives you extra jump,” said Gaborik, who is leading the NHL with 13 playoff goals, including the crucial equalizer in the Kings’ 5-4 double overtime win in Game 2. “It’s my first time coming back to the Garden after I got traded. I’m going to see the Garden after all the renovations for the first time, as well. You know, they have great fans. They’re going to be supporting them. We’re going to come out hard.”

Neither the Rangers nor the Kings practiced on Sunday as they made the cross-country flight from Los Angeles.

Both will be at the Garden for morning skates today prior to tonight’s Game 3.

As Record teammate Art Stapleton writes in today’s Record, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault knows tonight’s game is as close to a must-win as possible without being on the brink of elimination.

Gaborik noted at the Kings media availability late Sunday afternoon in Manhattan that the coaching switch from Tortorella to Vigneault has improved the Rangers. And he’s not hiding the fact that he’s enjoying facing the Rangers.

“Well, obviously it’s nice to be up there,” Gaborik said of his league-leading 13 goals. “But, you know, it’s a team game and I’m grateful to be in my first Final as many years as I was in the league. Playing the Rangers makes it a little more special. They’re a good team, balanced team, as I mentioned before. Obviously, you know, the coaching change for them seemed to help. So, you know, like I said, coming to the Garden tomorrow will be special. We definitely want to have a better start, hopefully start with the lead.”

Toward the end of his tenure with the Rangers, Tortorella had (briefly) demoted him to the fourth line and Gaborik’s play clearly showed an antipathy toward the situation. Of course, if general manager Glen Sather had known he was firing Tortorella at season’s end, he might not have traded Gaborik. But Gaborik doesn’t worry about what-ifs, even if it seems his style of play would be highly suitable to what Vigneault seeks from his players.

But Gaborik does understand the importance of playing at the Garden and what the atmosphere will be like tonight.

” I think so,” Gaborik said. “I don’t think I met or talked to any player that didn’t like to play in the Garden. Definitely the building has a lot of history. Everybody that goes and plays there, it has that extra jump. Just to look around the building itself, it has some sort of an energy that you want to be in there and you want to just play. A lot of our guys, the whole team, will have that energy. We going to come out strong.”
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About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.